The group on Thursday announced its annual awards for six advocates who are pressing for juvenile justice reforms at the state and national levels.

For the first time, NJJN will give an “Emerging Leader” award. The inaugural recipient is Jeree Thomas, an attorney with the JustChildren program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia Attorney Wins Inaugural Award for Her Work in Youth Justice Reform

Thomas is the campaign manager of the RISE (Re-invest in Supportive Environments) for Youth Campaign, which focuses on community-based alternatives to youth incarceration.

“When Jeree identifies an injustice impacting JustChildren’s young clients, she moves swiftly and steadily towards resolving it and you can count on her to succeed in doing so,” said Angela Ciolfi, Legal Director at JustChildren in a news release.

A second national award, the Beth Arnovits "Gutsy Advocate for Youth" Award, will go to Carmen Perez, executive director of The Gathering for Justice. Perez incorporates direct services, policy advocacy and public awareness through rallies, vigils and protests into her work on behalf of youth.

State Representative Raumesh Akbari

“By serving as a bridge between grassroots organizations and policy institutions, she’s fought to replace harmful practices and policies in the juvenile justice system and with policies and laws that support youth and families,” said Erika Stallworth, a founding member of the Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, in a news release.

NJJN also recognized four juvenile justice leaders in Tennessee with three awards:

Mahal Burr and Evan John Ross Morrison from the non-profit BRIDGES, a youth development organization, will receive the “Advocate Award in recognition of a leadership program they created for incarcerated youth; and

“We wanted to honor these leaders because they understand that Tennessee’s youth justice system is like a maze, with too many entrances and lots of dead ends,” said Sarah Bryer, who directs NJJN, in a news release. “They’ve each done crucial work to redesign the maze with fewer entrances and clearer pathways out, so that our justice system makes sense and kids can be rehabilitated and contribute to their communities.”

NJJN will present the awards in July at its annual conference, which will take place this year in Memphis.

Gavin Long’s violence stood in sharp contrast to the hundreds of protesters, many of them young people, who expressed their anger and rage at the police department with words — loud words, painful words, harsh words — but just words. (See rest of story plus slideshow in Bokeh.)

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